This resource provides you with an overview of the different associations and societies that offer professional development and collaboration opportunities in higher education. The different options available are outlined and links for further information are provided.
Overview
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FREE membership for ACU teachers Other scholarly organisations Individual and disciplinary-specific subscriptions Social media
Ongoing professional development for higher education teachers is required to maintain currency in your discipline and profession as well as learning and teaching practice. It also enables the sharing of scholarship and extends collaboration opportunities.
In addition to the professional development in scholarly teaching practices that is offered at ACU, you may want to develop your practice and research by accessing the professional development offered by external organisations. Here are some suggestions.
As a staff member at ACU you have free access to several scholarly teaching associations via ACU's institutional membership.
This international organisation has been expanding its membership from its UK origins as HEA (Higher Education Academy), a name retained in the fellowship program which ACU promotes to all staff within the University who have roles that relate to teaching and/or supporting learning. Because ACU is a member institution, staff can access Advance HE events at a discounted rate (occasionally free) via My Advance HE, but events are usually timed for UK/European participants. You can also join forums of interest via Advance HE Connect.
Advance HE Publication: While some resources are specific to the UK or Europe, there are plenty of teaching and learning reports, papers and discussion on topics such as curriculum development, inclusion and equity, internationalisation and leadership freely available on the Knowledge Hub.
This not-for-profit professional association brings together university and other tertiary sector teachers, researchers, academic developers, learning designers, developers, and senior managers to share and learn about technology-enabled learning. ACU is a Diamond member, so you can sign up for your individual membership for free here.
ASCILITE Publication: ASCILITE publishes the peer-reviewed and highly ranked Australasian Journal of Educational Technology (AJET).
ACU is an institutional member of this large USA-based but global non-profit whose mission is "to advance higher education through the use of information technology". You can create your own profile for free to access resources and regular communications and receive discounted pricing on training programs. Read more about EDUCAUSE membership here.
While selected representatives from ACU are responsible for key interactions with these associations, most of the research, policy reports and professional development they provide are open to all.
ACU has nominees on ACODE, an organisation for technology-enhanced learning and teaching in universities with a focus on leadership.
ACODE Publications: ACODE provides benchmarking documents and whitepapers at https://www.acode.edu.au/course/view.php?id=5
If you are a professional staff member, you may be interested in the associations listed by ACU’s Learning and Development team: Higher Education professional associations
You would need to fund your own membership of any of these associations. The ACU Library, however, has access to most of these publications.
This is a peak professional association for academic skills and student learning experts.
AALL Publications:Journal for Academic Language and Learning
This research-focussed organisation covers all education sectors including higher education.
AARE Publications:Australian Educational Researcher
HERDSA has an individual subscription model with virtual events organised by state branches and an annual conference. Its publications and professional development modules have been made available to ACU staff at no cost.
HERDSA Publications:
This professional organisation represents the breadth of learning sciences as an interdisciplinary field. Members come from educational psychology, collaboration, data science, information sciences, design studies, and beyond.
ISLS Publications:
A Fellows program and an annual conference are features of this society, which aims to highlight the intellectual value of SoTL (the scholarship of teaching and learning).
ISSOTL Publications:Teaching and Learning Inquiry
Vigorous professional associations that provide guidance and professional development for teaching include:
If you have suggestions for other professional teaching-focussed societies that should be shared here, please email CEI@acu.edu.au
Here are some suggestions for starting points for building your personal learning network via social media channels:
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